Electronic Retailer - August 2012 - 29

Effect
he could offer his clients that would cleanse their hair without stripping its natural oils. Perhaps the solution was in the conditioner, not the shampoo. On his stovetop at home, Dean combined lavender, eucalyptus, sage and rosemary with apples, bananas and pears to form a mixture. “I took it into my shower and cleansed my hair with it. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh! It feels fresh and amazing on my scalp!’” What’s more, his hair felt clean and looked healthy. The next step was to make it accessible for his clients.

then gave the conditioner to his stylists to try it on their own clients to see if they noticed a difference. “They would feel their hair and say, ‘Wow, my hair feels really good. What did you use on this?’” he explains. “That’s how it started, but it was a very long process.” After going through several revisions, Dean began working on the patent for the formula. “When it was time to launch,” he admits, “I didn’t want to talk about it because I was afraid a huge company would swipe the idea from me. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized: I’m selling one product that literally replaces your shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler and leave-in conditioner. There’s no way a company would tell customers to downsize. That’s when I knew I’d be okay.” In November 2000, WEN by Chaz Dean officially launched.

Garnering Attention
Recalling those early days, Dean says, “When I launched my product, I knew it would be an uphill battle.” He spent the next four-and-a-half years talking to beauty editors about why shampoo is harmful to your hair, the purpose behind the cleansing conditioner and educating them on how to use the hair care system properly. He found himself trying to convince people to essentially change the only hair care regiment they’ve ever known in order to achieve a healthier, shiny look. Word spread and WEN generated a lot of media attention, especially from leading beauty and lifestyle magazines like Lucky, InStyle, Elle, People and Celebrity Living. On April 4, 2005, Dean met with QVC to discuss bringing his product line to the live shopping audience. At that point, A-list celebrities Christina Applegate, Halle Berry, as well as the ladies of Desperate Housewives were using the hair care products and loved them. In fact, just three months prior, Dean was on the Housewives set when he met Oprah Winfrey and learned she too liked the product. This gave him 29 29

Developing the Product
At that point, Dean knew he had created something groundbreaking and approached a lab to help with product development. “When I met with the lab, I didn’t tell them what I was on to because I was really nervous that someone was going to steal the idea,” he notes. Dean simply asked the chemists to develop a traditional shampoo and conditioner, even though he had no interest in the shampoo. Over the next few years, the hair stylist focused solely on a cleansing conditioner – testing various versions on his own hair. He describes, “I would cleanse half my head with the previous formula and the other half with the new formula. Then I would go to work and ask people, ‘Feel my hair. Which side feels better? Which side looks shinier?’” Over the course of five years, he continued to test different versions and gather feedback from others until he knew he had the right formula. Dean

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Electronic Retailer - August 2012

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